And here we go again, today it was revealed that 24 people were killed in Iran due to drug dealing. Another 20 death penalties were carried out at the beginning of July. However, it is also believed that behind these death penalties are political reasons.

I personally find the figures quite shocking - there have been more than 294 death penalties in 2009! There is a good artickle in the Spiegel: http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,640686,00.html

It's terrible!

Mehdi Karrubi, one of the candidats for presidential elections in June 2009, accused the Iranian administration as some of the particpants of the last demonstrantions have been terribly abused, above all young women!! Beatings and abuse have been confirmed by the Iranian police chief Ahmadi Moghaddam and general attorney Ghorban-Ali Dorri-Nadschafabadi. Ex-prisoners reported on terrible torturing, which they have assisted and which led in some cases to death!

The powerful guards of the revolution, a paramilitary organization, which has already filtered into the highest levels of power in Iran, asked to open a process against Karrubi and co as they organized the protests and therefore merit a punition!!

http://www.taz.de/1/politik/nahost/artikel/1/berichte-ueber-misshandlung-oppositioneller/

Amnesty reported on 11.8.2009 that the process against more than 100 people before Tehran’s Revolutionary Court for fomenting protests against the disputed official result of Iran’s 12 June presidential election is going on now and it challenged the Iranian authorities to open up the court to international observers. But the probability is very low as Tehran has not permitted Amnesty to visit the country to investigate human rights violations since before the Iranian revolution 30 years ago...

I have written an email to the Head of the Judiciary in Iran, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi.
Further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/056/2009/en/fe6f6113-7f2e-4cde-9e1b-e876c52881a1/mde130562009en.pdf